Blind as a Banshee
by DeadWizardGod
Summary: Sean Cassidy's eyes never worked. His mutation makes it possible to tell where things are but hiding blindness is harder than he could have thought. One shot.


Sean Cassidy hated the Xavier Mansion. Yes, it was huge, secluded, had a pool and lots of other amazing features but did there have to be so many things lying around. Echolocation told him where the corridor ended but, if he wasn't paying attention, he could easily bump into a table or a statue.

Oh, did I mention Sean was blind.

He had never been able to see, his eyes only allowing blackness in. Strong flashes of light would turn the black to dark grey but the was the closest he had gotten to seeing. Until his mutation had developed. His hearing, enhanced over years of being his primary sense, could pick up the vibrations his scream let out. He practiced letting out small whistles almost inaudible so that others wouldn't notice him doing it. He already used his hearing to recognise people's voices and now used it for recognising their different walking styles, breathing rates or heart beats. His mother brought him contact lenses to hide the whiteness of his irises and, by the time he was recruited by Charles and Erik, no one could tell he was unable to see.

He hated his flying lessons more than anything. When Charles pushed him out of the window, for the first time in years he could see nothing. He was so worried about his sight, concentrating on his small whistles, he forgot to scream. He hit the ground, knocking one of his contacts out. Angry, embarrassed and worried about being discovered, he stomped off to his room, hiding away for the rest of the day. Everyone, even Erik, visited trying to get him to come out but he stayed in his room, faced pressed into his pillow, in case his visitors saw his bare eye.

The next day, he refused both to talk out his flight or make a second attempt. He also used his hearing to annoy Raven as much as possible. Charles had her pretending to be different people but, without sight to confuse him, it was easy to guess. He could tell the difference being her and Alex due to their stride, her and Moira due to their heart rate and her and Erik due to their accent. Raven hadn't quite perfected the very minor German accent Erik had on a few of his words.

It wasn't until a few weeks later, after he had mastered flight, when things started to get complicated. He was walking around, trying to find something to do. Unlike Alex and Hank, he and Raven had been using their mutation from a young age and didn't need to practise much.

'Look out!'

It was Alex' voice and he turned to face the voice, trying to see what was coming towards him. Just as he saw Alex's energy-beam headed his way, something hit his stomach, knocking him to the ground.

'Are you alright?' Charles said, helping him to his feet.

'Yeah, I'm fine.' Sean nodded, hoping to get away as quickly as possible.

'Why didn't you duck?'

Sean froze, trying to come up with an answer. 'I didn't...I couldn't...I froze up.'

Alex scoffed slightly. 'Why are you even out here mate. I left a note on the fridge saying I was out here.'

Sean groaned slightly. 'I can't read.' It was the only excuse he had. He'd rather look like an idiot than be discovered. Before anyone could say anything, he turned and ran back towards the mansion.

The next morning, he found he was running out of contacts. He asked Charles if he could ring his mother and the telepath had agreed almost instantly. His mother had been happy to hear from him but had delivered some worrying news.

'That Professor asked after your medical records Sean.' His mother had said towards the end of their conversation.

'You didn't tell him did you?'

'Of course, Sean. I'm not going to lie to your professor.'

Sean froze, the phone dropping from his hand. He heard someone behind him, heard them call his name but he was already running towards a window. He let out a scream, bursting the glass and jumped out, screaming to fly as far away as possible.

Charles Xavier watched his student fly away. Sean faltered a few times without his wing suit but managed to keep himself in the air long enough to reach the forest. Charles turned, picking up the phone and apologising to Mrs. Cassidy.

'Mr. Xavier, have you told anyone about my son's blindness?'

'No, Mrs. Cassidy, not a soul.'

'Maybe you should.' The Irish woman said, concern clear in her voice. 'Sean will be mad but I think it'll be good for him.'

Saying goodbye to Banshee's mother, the telepath called everyone else in the house to the living room. Erik, Moira and Raven looked at him oddly while Hank and Alex were looking around.

'Where's Sean?' Alex said. Charles opened his mouth to answer but the door slammed open, revealing the Irish mutant. Sean's hair was filled with twigs and his cloths were ripped in several places, cuts and bruises shown beneath the rips. His eyes, bare from contacts, were milky white, glaring at the Professor.

'You were going to tell them!' Every piece of glass began to rattle as Sean shouted. 'You have no right to tell them anything!'

'Sean.' Charles said, trying to tell Banshee his secret had already been revealed.

'You shouldn't even know! She shouldn't have told you!'

'Sean!'

'It's not fair! You can't decide what people-'

'_Sean, your contacts have fallen out!_' Charles shouted, inside Sean's mind as well as out loud.

Sean froze, letting out five small whistles to look at the other's faces. They were all looking at him, faces filled with shock and pity. Sean turned, getting ready to run, but fell, hitting his leg on the table behind him. He glared at Moira who moved to help him up. Standing up, he glared around the room before sitting down next to Raven.

'So, you're blind?' The shape-shifter said. Sean nodded, looking down at the floor. 'Since when?'

'Since birth.'

'But you saw us showing off our powers. Back at the CIA.'

Sean rolled his eyes. 'No, I heard you. Pretty obvious when you know what to listen for.' He cringed slightly as Raven shifted beside. 'That is the weirdest noise I have ever heard.'

'What noise?'

'You shifting it's...I dunno, its just weird.'

'So, who do I look like?' Raven challenged, although Sean could guess just from the voice. Sean whistled, letting the vibrations hit off everything before he turned back to Mystique.

'Well, you look like Erik. Don't sound like him though.'

'She doesn't?' This came from Erik himself, who couldn't find any fault in the younger mutants accent.

'Yeah, you say your t's and your k's different.' Sean shrugged. 'It's small but noticeable.'

He heard Raven laugh slightly and shift. 'Who am I now?'

He frowned slightly. The voice was familiar but he couldn't place it. A quick whistle revealed she didn't look like anyone he knew. He focused for a second before his unseeing eyes widened.

'That's not what I look like, is it?'

Alex laughed. Sean 'saw' Moira glare at him but the ex-prisoner just shook his head. 'You don't know what you look like?'

'Nope. Echolocation doesn't work on mirrors.'

Sean smiled and Alex laughed again. 'And what you said about not being able to read...'

'Is technically true. I can read Braille but not written word.'

Charles smiled nodding to the others. 'I think that's enough excitement for today. Everyone off to bed.'

Most people groaned, including Erik. Despite this, they all stood up and headed for their rooms. Sean nodded at the Professor as he passed and Charles grabbed his arm to pull him out the way of the table. Sean smiled, heading off to his room, whistling.

The next morning, Sean walked out of his room and instantly tripped. He whistled to find a small box directly in his way, a note attached to it. Picking it up, he noticed it was written with Braille and smiled.

_This just makes it easier to prank you._

_Keep your eyes open._


End file.
